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Indies First Saturday

Clear your calendars for November 25—that’s Indies First Saturday, an annual bookish spinoff of Small Business Saturday and a chance to celebrate everything local and literary. This year, we're also calling it "Rebuild the Kendall Neighborhood Library Day."

Our beloved Kendall Library, which sits on the banks of the normally calm Buffalo Bayou, took a direct hit during Hurricane Harvey. They estimate the rebuild will take almost a year. Help us help our friends by shopping with us on Indies First Saturday—we will donate a percentage of our sales to the HPL Foundation.

As this is a holiday, we’ll be featuring fun events throughout the day. The Kendall children's librarians will be on hand for a special story time at 11 a.m. Later on, adults are invited to join us for Cocktail Book Hour at 4 p.m. Valerie will talk about her favorite books of 2017 and great holiday gift ideas, while our staff mixologists shake up book-themed cocktails.

We’ll also have light bites, an ARC (advanced reading copy) giveaway, plus an Instagram frame for fun photos throughout the day.

Bonus: Our partners at Libro.fm are offering incredible deals on audiobooks to celebrate the day. Let us know if you want to receive their reminder email that morning with all the details on the sale—now is the time to sign up!

Indies First started in 2013 when Sherman Alexie wrote a letter to fellow authors urging them to support independent bookstores across the country. Each year, one author is chosen as Indies First spokesperson. In 2017, that distinction went to Jason Reynolds, bestselling author of young adult novels like All American Boys, Ghost, and Long Way Down.

"Being named the 2017 Indies First spokesperson is nothing short of an honor," Reynolds said. "To be an ambassador for the independent booksellers that have been ambassadors for me isn’t only a welcomed responsibility, but also a sweet and, quite frankly, awesome obligation.”